This Harrowing PSA Calls for a Ban on 3D-Printed Guns

Arnold worked with Stop Handgun Violence on the campaign

3D-printed guns put weapons in the hands of anyone with access to a 3D printer and the files needed to print them.

Given the tragic prevalence of school shootings in recent years, it’s not hard to imagine the worst-case scenario for 3D-printed guns. A harrowing PSA from nonprofit Stop Handgun Violence, Boston-based agency Arnold and production and design studio Lobo utilizes 3D printing to deliver a message regarding the dangers of 3D-printed guns.

Timed to coincide with National Gun Violence Awareness Day on June 2, the PSA slowly pans over a 3D model of a school and students arriving for the day. As it continues, it’s revealed that there is an active shooter in the building, and students attempt to barricade a door or flee through an open window. The PSA concludes by informing viewers that 100,000 Americans downloaded plans to 3D-print weapons last year and calls on viewers to help ban 3D-printed guns, directing them to Ban3dPrintedGuns.com.

“We are in desperate need for more public support to push lawmakers to ban 3D printed guns. These firearms pose a huge risk to public safety and we need our elected officials to take swift action to stem the flow of these dangerous and completely unregulated weapons. As 3D printing technology becomes cheaper and better, the dangers will exponentially climb,” Stop Handgun Violence founder and chair John Rosenthal said in a statement. “3D guns are catastrophes waiting to happen and we must amp up the narrative legislative action before that happens. We are cautiously optimistic that our effort will bring a bill that bans 3D guns to Congress.”

“The fact that 3D printed guns are becoming more accessible and untraceable is terrifying,” added Arnold CCO Icaro Doria. “This simply can’t become the new normal.”